Retailers and their suppliers dominated the JOC’s Top 100 U.S. Importers rankings once again in 2014. Here’s a quick look at the companies making up the Top 10 importers in U.S. foreign trade via ocean container transport.

U.S. containerized imports are forecast to rise 5.4 percent year-over-year in the second half of the year after inbound volume at the major gateways for retail goods hit normal levels in April, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker.

The Journal of Commerce's annual Top 100 U.S. Importers and Exporters ranking begins with data from PIERS, a sister product of the JOC within IHS Maritime & Trade, and is enhanced by information gathered from other industry sources. Wal-Mart Stores was the leading U.S. importer in 2014.

The Journal of Commerce's annual Top 100 U.S. Importers and Exporters ranking begins with data from PIERS, a sister product of the JOC within IHS Maritime & Trade, and is enhanced by information gathered from other industry sources. The top U.S. exporter for 2014 was America Chung Nam, the primary supplier to Nine Dragons Paper Industries, which is China's largest containerboard manufacturer.

Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium are the biggest beneficiaries of increased U.S. demand for European goods and materials, according to PIERS, a sister product of JOC.com within IHS Martime & Trade.

A strengthening dollar is slowing U.S. steel exports, which dropped 13.8 percent year-over-year in March and were down 7.1 percent in the first quarter of 2015. Exports totaled 896,027 net tons in March and 2.7 million tons for the quarter.

Containerized imports through major U.S. port gateways hit record levels in March as West Coast ports disgorged shipments that backed up during weeks of gridlock, according to the latest Global Port Tracker report.